carehome.co.uk director wins Care Personality of the Year

Davina Ludlow, director of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk, said she is “over the moon” after she won the award for Care Personality of the Year.

Ms Ludlow was one of six finalists competing to win the coveted title at the National Care Awards 2013.

Ms Ludlow, who won her award at the high-profile industry event on Friday said: “It was a night I will never forget”.

She added: “I am over the moon, I cannot believe it. To be recognised by your peers as Care Personality of the Year means so much! I could not believe it when they announced my name. I still haven’t come down from cloud nine. I may only be five foot tall but I feel ten foot tall.

“I honestly couldn’t believe that I had won, against such amazing finalists, who are all so well respected in the care industry.”

The judges chose Ms Ludlow for the award because “over the last decade she has improved the quality and availability of information to residents, families and professionals. Founder trustee of the Care Workers Charity she brings unbounded enthusiasm, diligence, a glass of wine and a lot of care to all she does”.

Martin Green, chief executive of ECCA (English Community Care Association) called her “a very worthy winner” and said: “Davina has supported the care sector for many years and she is widely respected for her energy, enthusiasm and commitment.”

Ms Ludlow runs the two leading online guides to care homes and home care in the UK, and is an outspoken advocate for good care. She was recently interviewed on both radio and television discussing the problems that could arise from introducing hidden cameras into care homes.

She has been an integral part of the care industry for the last 20 years, and is also a founder trustee for the Care Workers Charity, which supports care workers by providing assistance to relieve financial hardship or sickness.

Will Blackwell, co-director of carehome.co.uk said Ms Ludlow “completely deserved the award” and added: “She is exceptionally passionate about the care sector, in particular, in promoting good care. She is hugely enthusiastic and kind, which is reflected in the incredible number of personal and professional relationships she has within the sector - she knows everyone and everyone knows Davina. She also has an excellent understanding of what is happening in the sector and is very resourceful and generous at solving problems or creating solutions.

“Davina has used this passion, network, knowledge and resourcefulness to drive forward the development of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk. She has been instrumental in identifying what the care sector wants in terms of finding the right care, products and services, jobs and news - and we have tried to develop our websites accordingly. Davina's insights have been critical in growing our number of website users to over 1.5 million per month.”

The other finalists were Jane Ashcroft, chief executive of Anchor and Nadra Ahmed, chair at National Care Association for their work on Care England, Avnish Goyal, managing director of Hallmark Care Homes, Annie Sinnott, managing director of The Old Vicarage and Neil Mathewman, chief executive of Community Integrated Care.

Ms Ludlow was nominated for the title of Care Personality of the Year by leading people in the care sector including Professor Martin Green, chair of ECCA (English Community Care Association).

Erica Lockhart, chief executive of Surrey Care Association, who also nominated her called her “a great champion for social care” and Richard Clough, joint founder of Healthcare Homes said “she has become an icon of our industry and is very deserving of the award Care Personality of the Year.”

The Care Personality of the Year award was sponsored by Four Seasons Healthcare.

carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk are based in Hungerford in Berkshire.

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